The Lost Second Book of Aristotle's "Poetics"

E-book $7.00 to $40.00About E-booksISBN: 9780226875101
Published
June 2012

Of all the writings on theory and aesthetics—ancient, medieval, or modern—the most important is indisputably Aristotle’s Poetics, the first philosophical treatise to propound a theory of literature. In the Poetics, Aristotle writes that he will speak of comedy—but there is no further mention of comedy. Aristotle writes also that he will address catharsis and an analysis of what is funny. But he does not actually address any of those ideas. The surviving Poetics is incomplete.

Until today. Here, Walter Watson offers a new interpretation of the lost second book of Aristotle's Poetics. Based on Richard Janko’s philological reconstruction of the epitome, a summary first recovered in 1839 and hotly contested thereafter, Watson mounts a compelling philosophical argument that places the statements of this summary of the Aristotelian text in their true context. Watson renders lucid and complete explanations of Aristotle’s ideas about catharsis, comedy, and a summary account of the different types of poetry, ideas that influenced not only Cicero’s theory of the ridiculous, but also Freud’s theory of jokes, humor, and the comic.

Finally, more than two millennia after it was first written, and after five hundred years of scrutiny, Aristotle’s Poetics is more complete than ever before. Here, at last, Aristotle’s lost second book is found again.

"Walter Watson brings a deep perspective steeped in Aristotle’s entire philosophy to the study of Aristotle’s view of comedy and laughter. He repeatedly shows new ways in which the much contested TractatusCoislinianus fits in with, and completes, Aristotle’s wider thought about literature, catharsis, and causation in general. Just as Herculaneum papyri are bringing us more knowledge of Aristotle’s dialogue On Poets, so this analysis makes the outlines of his Poetics II clearer than before.”

James E. Ford, emeritus, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

“Here, Walter Watson makes the strongest possible claim, asserting that the TractatusCoislinianus is a true and reliable summary of the lost second book of the Poetics. Readers will be especially grateful for his illuminating notes on such central—and vexed—issues in Poetics I as catharsis and the ends of tragedy; and Watson uses Poetics II to shine a welcome light on final cause, spectacle, didacticism, and the different senses of poetry. Even if readers find something here and there to disbelieve, they are unlikely to find anything anywhere in this book that they do not admire.”

Choice

“[The Lost Second Book] serves as a reliable guide to readers unfamiliar with Aristotle's thought. . . . This book should appeal to Aristotle scholars and to those interested in aesthetics more generally. Recommended.”

Bryn Mawr Classical Review

“[A]nyone interested in the first great work of literary theory will find The Lost Second Book of Aristotle's Poetics accessible as well as valuable. Even anti-Aristotelians will appreciate the book, if only in finding new sources of thought in their disagreements.”

Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction

1. The Lost Second Book of Aristotle’s Poetics 2. Aims of the Present Book 3. Method to Be Followed 4. Prospective Readers

Part IV. The End of TragedyChapter 13. The End of Tragedy as Catharsis Chapter 14. The Fearful Emotions Chapter 15. The Removal of Emotions by Emotions Chapter 16. The Aim of Tragedy: Symmetry Chapter 17. The Mother of Tragedy: Pain Chapter 18. Poetry and the Practical Sciences 1. Poetic and Therapeutic Catharsis 2. Is Catharsis in the Poem or the Audience? 3. Is Catharsis Educative? 4. The Practical Ends of Poetry

Part V. ComedyChapter 19. The Definition of Comedy Chapter 20. The Mother of Comedy: Laughter Chapter 21. The Laughable 1. The Definition of the Laughable 2. Accounts of the Laughable 3. The Causes of the Laughable 4. Laughter from the Diction 5. Laughter from the Incidents 6. Cicero’s Account of Laughter 7. The Science of the Laughable Chapter 22. The Embodiment of the Laughable in Comedy 1. The Matter and Parts of Comedy 2. Old, New, and Middle Comedy

Conclusion Appendix: The Order and Provenance of the Aristotelian Corpus Notes Works Cited Index

For more information, or to order this book, please visit http://www.press.uchicago.edu